Silver Ions - New Standard Ionic Silver Technology, Efficacy, Safety
Silver the new standard in medicine and industry. Twenty-first century technology is giving us a new perspective of an old friend. Silver - in a new form, ionic silver - is emerging as the new antimicrobial wonder in dealing with bacterial, as well as viral and fungal conditions, in both medicine and industry. Ionic silver is proving to be a remarkably effective health defense, not only against an enormous range of infectious diseases that are a very real part of our world today, but also against the increasing number of dangerous superbugs like MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with its growing number of strains) and newly emerging pandemic threats, such as bird flu (H5N1 virus) and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).
Ionic silver is friendly and non-toxic to the environment, safe for plants, pets and humans. A powerful tissue-healing agent, ionic silver applications currently represent one of the fastest growing sectors in wound care today. While safe and gentle to humans or animals, ionic silver is brutal and deadly to bacteria, viruses and fungi. Research in the United States at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri confirms studies that antibiotic resistant strains of pathogenic microbes cannot develop with ionic silver the way that they will with antibiotics. The fact that silver is an effective agent against a very broad range of microorganisms is well established. Recent advances in the stabilization and delivery of ionic silver, together with the problems associated with antibiotics, are propelling ionic silver technology usage in a rapidly growing range of medical, dental, and commercial products.
Illustrating how serious this trend is, in a report published in April 2006 by Chemical & Engineering News about a new method from Nexxion for applying silver coating to catheters, IV needles, and other medical devices, the chief technical officer of the company is quoted as saying, "To date, no pathogens have been able to survive contact with silver."
Silver Technology Usage Expanding AcryMed, a nanotechnology company, recently announced FDA approval of its product SilvaGard, a silver-nanotechnology coating to protect medical devices from bacteria. The company stated, "Ionic silver has been long recognized and used as a highly effective antimicrobial."
Covalon is a manufacturer that has introduced an antimicrobial silver-ion releasing, collagen-based sheet dressing for wound care. In January 2006, the president of the company was quoted as having said, "In the wound dressings market, silver dressings growth outperforms all others in the category." Curad and Johnson & Johnson bandages are now available to the consumer with silver impregnated into the gauze so as to destroy bacteria. In the medical field, another company, AgION has stated that, "Today silver is a key ingredient in new high-tech, powder coated finishes that hospitals and doctors' offices are using to protect walls, counters and other germ-gathering surfaces."
The list of silver based products and applications is growing.
Adidas and Polartec have licensed silver coated nylon fabric known as X-Static to incorporate
germ-killing silver in athletic and outdoor clothing for their ability to kill odors. ARC Outdoors uses silver infused fabric from NanHorizon Inc. to produce antimicrobial socks for the U.S. military.
SmartSilver is a brand of odor-eliminating underwear, stocking caps and gloves that kills bacteria on contact using ionic silver. ARC sells to Walmart, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's.
Slippers and pillows now have ionic silver compounds incorporated into the fabric to prevent
odor-causing bacteria. Containers for food storage are now being impregnated with ionic silver releasing compounds to prevent bacterial growth that contributes to spoilage.
Writing pens, bath mats, cutting boards, and door knobs are being coated with silver compounds to prevent bacteria from being spread.
Closed populations, such as prisons where stubbornly resistant staph infections are becoming increasingly problematic, are turning to ionic silver for a solution.
Hospitals and other medical facilities use ionic silver technology in climate control system components and ductwork to prevent the transmission of bacteria. Water treatment facilities that service hospitals use silver ion technology for clean water. Cruise lines are evaluating silver technologies as a defense against ship-wide Norovirus (stomach virus) outbreaks. And that is still just the tip of the iceberg. The list goes on and on, and is growing fast.
Although researchers have known of silver's germ-fighting effects for decades, it wasn't until the beginning of the twenty-first century that scientists began to unlock the mystery of ions and understand why ionic silver worked so well.
A press release by Curad quoted Philip M. Tierno, Ph.D., Director of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology at New York University Medical Center and author of The Secret Life of Germs (Atria Books
), as stating, "Silver is a natural antibacterial that works by killing bacteria, fungi and yeast by interfering with the metabolism necessary for respiration of these microbes. It fights germs with much less fear of developing antibiotic resistance."
A representative of AgION stated in a recent press release, "Silver has multiple mechanisms of action. Use of silver as an antimicrobial [agent] is therefore unlikely to promote antibiotic resistance.
"A Growing Body Of Evidence shows Ionic silver is often referred to as having "antimicrobial" qualities, rather than just "antibacterial" qualities.
This is a very important distinction because many diseases that affect human
beings today - bird flu and SARS if they should become pandemic in the future - all involve "viral" pathogens, not bacterial. And the medical community truly has nothing that will reliably combat viral pathogens.
A 2003 study by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention found ionic silver to be highly effective against the human SARS virus.
A 2005 study out of the United States University of Texas suggested ionic silver would be effective against HIV-1, and researchers expected it would be shown effective against other viruses and bacteria as well. "We're testing against other viruses and the superbug (Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus)," said Miguel Jose Yacaman, from University of Texas, Department of Engineering and one of the study's authors.
A 2006 evaluation by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Kasetsart University Kamphaeng Saen Campus, Thailand found that an ionic silver complex completely deactivated the avian influenza A (H5N1) virus within three (3) minutes of contact.
The "antimicrobial" effect of ionic silver has long been recognized.
Ionic silver is extremely broad spectrum when applied to bacterial, viral and fungal pathogens, including mold and yeast. Ionic silver is clearly recognized to be highly effective against essentially every known class of pathogen. Phrases like "antimicrobial" and "no pathogens survive" are intended to be quite broad in scope. And the mechanisms of action that make ionic silver effective are unique enough to support such claims.
In recent decades, colloidal silver has seen a resurgence in popularity in the alternative or natural medicine field, or when sold as a dietary supplement.
New technologies in manufacturing ionic silver represent a major breakthrough in efficacy.
Our growing understanding of techniques and controlled delivery mechanisms has contributed greatly to the increase in the number of applications using ionic silver technology. The New York Times stated in a December 2005 article, "Silver, one of humankind's first weapons against bacteria, is receiving new respect for its antiseptic powers, thanks to the growing ability of researchers to tinker with its molecular structure."
The same article goes on to say, "But silver's time-tested - if poorly understood - versatility [...] was overshadowed in the latter half of the 20th century by the rise of antibiotics. Now, with more and more bacteria developing resistance to antibiotic drugs, some researchers and healthcare entrepreneurs have returned to silver for another look. This time around, they are armed with a fast-developing collection of products and skills that help researchers deploy silver compounds in ways that maximize the availability of silver ions - the element's most potent form.
Scientists also now have a better understanding of the weaknesses of their microbial adversaries. “Silver May Outshine the Threat of Bird Flu and SARS”
Perhaps a possible solution to a SARS or bird flu pandemic, if it were to develop, may already exist today in ionic silver technology based applications. And it may be the solution for a lot of things that really need an answer today.
We are currently facing unknown new mixtures of different pathogenic viral strains. Biological warfare and pandemics are a real threat to society.
Silver’s effectiveness based on the “time-tested” benefits throughout history, past research throughout the world, and current medical products being developed today make us confident that our need for ionic silver on hand is of vital importance as a broad spectrum antimicrobial natural choice.
REFERENCES Health Freedom News, Vol. 24, No. 3, Summer 2006 By Herbert Slavin, M.D, Lauderhill, Florida.USA"A Silver Bullet For Infections?" Bethany Halford, Chemical & Engineering News, April 17, 2006, Vol. 84, No. 16 at
35-36, APS Meeting News see also "Silver Bromide Shines In Bacteria-Fighting Coating," Bethany Halford, Chemical & Engineering News, Latest News
- Nanotechnology, July 12, 2006 "New Nanotechnology Receives FDA Approval - Setting Stage For New Era In Battle Against Hospital Related Infections," December 12, 2005
"Nano Silver Fights Infections," August 1, 2005, (c) 2005 by United Press International "Covalon enters into significant international distribution
agreement for new antimicrobial and regular collagen-based wound dressings," Covalon Technologies, Ltd. Press Release, January 12, 2006
"SILVERCEL(tm) Antimicrobial Alginate Dressing Protects the Healing Environment With Silver, Johnson & Johnson News, April 13, 2004
"University Study Shows Ionic Silver Effective Against SARS; Supports Previous Research Findings on SARS Virus,"
BioPortfolio by AgION Technologies, June 13, 2005
"Study Shows Silver Nanoparticles Attach to HIV-1 Virus," Syeda Z. Hamdani, www.PhysOrg.com, October 14, 2005 "Silver Fights Germs Naturally," Press Release from Curad, October 19, 2004
"Old Curative Gets New Life at Tiny Scale," Barnaby J. Feder, The New York Times, December 20, 2005
"Final Report, AOAC Use Dilution - Carrier Confirmation", Bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ATCC #700698, Enterococcus faecium (VRE) ATCC #700221, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC #19111, Escherichia coli O157 ATCC
#43888, Nelson Laboratories, Inc. 6280 South Redwood Rd, Salt Lake City, Utah 84123, USA, 10 Jan, 2002.
19 "Final Study Report, Virucidal Efficacy of a Disinfectant for Use on Inanimate Environmental Surfaces, Virus: Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1, Strain HTLV-IIIB ", AppTec Laboratory Services, 2540 Executive Drive St.
Paul, MN 55120, USA, December 20, 2001
"Ionic Silver Complex Designed for Antimicrobial Use in Humans Receives U.S. Patent," Invision International Health Solutions, Inc. Press Release, June 29, 2005
"Tulsa County Jail Eradicates Long-Standing Staph Problem: No New Cases in 5 Months With Use of Staph Attack Disinfectant" Lexdon Business Library, Feb 08, 2007
"Sensitivity Test for Killing the H5N1 Virus", Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen Campus, Nakhon Pathom 73140, Thailand, January 16, 2006
Noble Biomaterials, Inc. 300 Palm Street, Scranton, PA 18505 NanoHorizons Inc. Technology Center, Suite 207, 200 Innovation Blvd.
State College, PA 16803
"Technical Report No. AM 07/014, Determination of the antimicrobial activity of an I&I disinfectant containing Microbecide", Bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC #6538, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ATCC#15442, Escherichia coli ATCC #10536, Corynebacterium Minutissimum ATCC#23348, Yeast: Candida Albicans ATCC#10231 Ciba Labs, Frankfurt, Germany, 03 Dec, 2007.
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The information herein is provided to help you make an informed decision. All information is for educational purposes. Much of this has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This is not intended to replace medical care, diagnose, treat, mitigate, or cure disease. Each individual has a right to choose their own health care methods. As always, consult with a health professional before attempting any self health program.